Softball throwing and pitching spin trainer

ABSTRACT

The present invention compromises a novel softball training aid that accelerates the ability an understanding of throwing and spinning a softball in different orientations. In various embodiments the invention will help create and maintain a more effective pitcher and/or softball player

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/799,946 filed Feb. 1, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to playing the game of softball and throwing a softball, as well as other games or drills created by using a modified ball.

BACKGROUND

Fast pitch softball has become a year round sport, and a big business, with about 2.5 million girls participating in the US alone. Girls start around age 6 and continue to play at various levels of competition all the way through college. Parents pay big money for their kids to participate through a variety of community organizations; city run recreation leagues, school districts, and private club teams. The cost of a year of club participation for an athlete between coaching, dues, equipment, and travel, can easily run into the multiple thousands of dollars.

Because of inconsistent youth coaching in pitching, and new girls being introduced to a very specialized unique activity every year, outside training aids have become a very important part of the learning process. Additionally, once a girl becomes an established pitcher, the invention becomes a necessary tool to polish pitches, and other inadequate and inferior tools that are supposed to accomplish similar goals continue to be used by the best pitchers in the world. An invention like this would be used by all levels of pitchers throughout their days of playing softball.

The softball training aid market is filled with products that are supposed to help develop skills, and there are a few spin training tools on the market, but none of them replicate the look, feel, weight, and grips of a real softball, and are cumbersome to use, so don't translate well to actual use.

Learning to spin a ball the proper way in order to throw different movement pitches can take years of practice, and there is no product on the market that helps train and visualize the release, and then easily converts to the same feeling in a game situation.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention replicates the look, feel, weight, and grips of a real softball, but has the sides flattened down, to make the shape more of a disk, instead of a ball.

The invention also has raised seams in an orientation that replicates a traditional ball, and a covering used by normal competition softballs.

The stripe on the ball makes it easier to see which way the ball is spinning when thrown.

When used in drills and practice, either practicing alone or with others, it helps learning, understanding, and creating muscle memory to throw different pitches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a substantially side perspective view of the modified ball according to various embodiments described herein.

FIG. 2 depicts an example of a substantially ¾ perspective view of the modified ball according to various embodiments described herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a substantially front perspective view of the modified ball according to various embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well as the singular forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

In describing the invention, it will be understood that a number of techniques and steps are disclosed. Each of these has individual benefit and each can also be used in conjunction with one or more, or in some cases all, of the other disclosed techniques. Accordingly, for the sake of clarity, this description will refrain from repeating every possible combination of the individual steps in an unnecessary fashion. Nevertheless, the specification and claims should be read with the understanding that such combinations are entirely within the scope of the invention and the claims.

Softballs, sporting goods, and ball descriptions are discussed herein. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.

The present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the invention (also sometimes called modified ball), and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated by the figures or description below.

The invention is a traditional softball with raised stitch seams with the sides flattened down, to create more of a disk shape. In some embodiments the invention is optic yellow, in other embodiments the ball is any color.

In some embodiments of the invention the circumference of the ball along the unmodified axis is 12 inches, in some embodiments it is 11 inches, and in others it is 14 inches.

In some embodiments of the invention the circumference of the ball along the unmodified axis is 9 inches and in some embodiments the circumference is 10 inches.

In some embodiments of the invention the disk width, as measured with a calipers is 2.5-3 inches, in some embodiments of the invention the disk width, as measured with a calipers is 1.75-2.5 inches. In some embodiments, the width W is sized to fit the players hand while holding the training ball. This allows the player to throw the training ball the same as a traditional softball or baseball.

The present invention has a traditional softball or baseball layout of raised stitched seams that continue along the flat sides of the ball. The look of the training ball gives the impression of a traditional softball that has been flattened on both sides. In some embodiments, the seam orientation of the raised stitched seams passes through 4 seams in a circle along the rounded side of the invention. In some embodiments, the circle passes across 2 seams.

In some embodiments of the invention the weight of the modified ball is 6.25-7 ounces, in some embodiments the weight is lighter, between 4.5-6.25 ounces, and in some embodiments the invention is heavier, between 7-9 ounces.

The training ball is includes a covering and a core. The covering material may be composed of synthetic, composite or natural leather. The training ball may be dyed a color, such as yellow, to help with visibility. The training ball includes threads or raised stitched seams made of either linen or cotton. While the covering of a softball remains consistent, its core can be comprised of a variety of materials.

The invention is manufactured from commonly used materials for the construction of more typical softballs, including, but not limited to, leather, rubber, or synthetic leather covering a cork, or poly core center. In some embodiments there is no seam between the curved part and flat sides of the ball.

The invention as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, has a black stripe in some embodiments around the round side of the modified ball, in other embodiments the stripe may be any color. The stripe is used in order to help recognize spin orientation while the ball is in flight.

In some embodiments the ball markings are optimized for visualization with a camera or computer. In some embodiments, the training ball include electrical components, such as sensors, to record or transmit ball spin information to an application on a computer or smart phone.

The multiple embodiments may occur in a variety of combinations, in order to facilitate slightly different goals, and drills to be performed.

FIGS. 1-3 show one embodiment of a training ball 100 having a sphere segment portion 105 and flattened sides 110. The sphere segment portion 105 of the training ball 100 is similar in shape to a traditional spherical softball or baseball (shown in dashed line 115) that that is cut by planes P1 and P2. The planes P1 and P2 are an equal distance from a spin plane P3. The look of the training ball gives the impression of a traditional softball that has been flattened on two sides.

The training ball includes a circumference C and a width W that may be various sizes, depending on the game being played. For example, in some embodiments the circumference C is 12 inches for a standard softball, in some embodiment the circumference C is 10-11 inches for a youth softball, in some embodiments the circumference C is 14-16 inches for a softball used without gloves, and in some embodiments the circumference is 9-10 inches for a baseball. The ball is typically fairly hard; however, the pitcher has a lot to do with how hard any ball is hit. In most of the games, the fielders wear gloves.

The training ball may include threads or raised stitched seams 120 similar to a traditional softball or baseball layout on the sphere segment portion 105 that continue 120F along the flat sides 110 of the ball. The training ball 100 may be any color. The color may be selected for visualization of the training ball 100 when it is used. In some embodiment the training ball is optic yellow, in other embodiments the ball is white. In some embodiments the training ball 100 includes one or more markings 125 to increase visualization of the ball spin. In some embodiments, the markings may include colored or contrasting stripes around the sphere segment portion 105 of the ball. In the embodiment shown, the marking 120 is a black stripe, in other embodiments the marking 120 may be any color stripe or design The marking 120 is used in order to help recognize spin orientation while the ball is in flight and may be aligned with the spin plane P3.

While the training ball 100 has been describes with flattened sides 110, other non-flat shapes are also contemplated. For example, the sides 110 may include a curved shape or a cone shape.

In some embodiments of the training ball 100 width W is 2.5-3 inches, in some embodiments of the training ball 100 width W is 1.75-2.5 inches.

In some embodiments of the training ball 100 may include threads or seams 120 similar a traditional ball. When the training ball 100 is configured for use in training softball pitchers, the sphere segment portion 105 may include two sets of threads 120 on diametrically opposite sides. In some embodiments, the threads are raised threads. In other embodiment, the threads 120 are recessed, or may be painted.

In some embodiments of the training ball 100 is configured for pitch training slow-pitch or youth softball, it may have a width W of 1.75-2.5 inches and a circumference C around 10-11 inches with a weight around 164 grams.

In some embodiments of the training ball 100 is configured for training fast-pitch, it may have a width W around 12 inches, a width W around 2.5-3 and a weight around 185 grams.

In some embodiments of the training ball 100 is configured for pitch training baseball, it may have a width W around 9 inches, a width W around 1.75-3 and a weight around: 5 oz.

In use, the training ball 100 is used to train proper pitching motion. The proper pitching motion is when a pitcher throws a pitch and ball does not wobble. If pitched correctly, the training ball 100 rolls off of fingers with a spinning motion and rotates in a single plane without any wobble. If the training ball 100 is not pitched correctly it will have a visual wobble.

The training ball 100 may be used for any type of pitching, such as an underhanded throw when training someone to pitch a softball, or an overhanded throw for someone to pitch a baseball.

The training ball 100 may be used to teach the proper throw of a variety of pitches, such as fast ball, curves, changeups or other known pitches. The goal is for the training ball 100 to be thrown so it rotates in a single plane and does not wobble.

Although the present invention has been illustrated and described herein with reference to some embodiments and specific examples thereof, it will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other embodiments and examples may perform similar functions and/or achieve like results. All such equivalent embodiments and examples are within the spirit and scope of the present invention, are contemplated thereby, and are intended to be covered by the following claims.

Example embodiments of the methods and systems of the present invention have been described herein. As noted elsewhere, these example embodiments have been described for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting. Other embodiments are possible and are covered by the invention. Such embodiments will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings contained herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A pitch spin training ball comprising: a sphere segment portion having a circumference C, a width W and a spin plane; two flattened sides on opposite sides of the sphere segment portion separated by width W, and a covering configured to cover the sphere segment portion and flattened sides; wherein when the training ball is thrown correctly the two flattened sides remain parallel to the spin plane and the training ball does not wobble.
 2. The training ball of claim 1, wherein the two flattened sides are positioned at an equal distance from the spin plane.
 3. The training ball of claim 1, wherein the covering includes a color to increase visualization of the training ball.
 4. The training ball of claim 1, wherein the covering includes one or more markings to help recognize spin orientation while the training ball is in flight.
 5. The training ball of claim 4, wherein the markings are aligned with the spin plane.
 6. The training ball of claim 1, wherein the circumference C is between 9 and 14 inches.
 7. The training ball of claim 1, wherein the width is between 1.75 and 3 inches.
 8. The training ball of claim 1, wherein the eight is between 4.5 and 9 ounces.
 9. The training ball of claim 1, further comprising threads or raised stitched seams on the covering.
 10. A pitch spin training ball comprising: a sphere segment portion having a circumference C, a width W and a spin plane; two flattened sides positioned at an equal distance from the spin plane on opposite sides of the sphere segment portion, a covering configured to cover the sphere segment portion and flattened sides; and one or more threads or raised stitched seams on the covering; wherein when the training ball is thrown correctly the two flattened sides remain parallel to the spin plane and the training ball does not wobble.
 11. The training ball of claim 10, wherein the covering includes a color to increase visualization of the training ball.
 12. The training ball of claim 10, wherein the covering includes one or more markings to increase visualization of the training ball.
 13. The training ball of claim 12, wherein the markings are aligned with the spin plane.
 14. The training ball of claim 10, wherein the circumference C is between 9 and 14 inches.
 15. The training ball of claim 10, wherein the width is between 1.75 and 3 inches.
 16. The training ball of claim 10, wherein the eight is between 4.5 and 9 ounces.
 17. A method of throwing a training ball comprising the steps of: providing a training ball comprising: a sphere segment portion having a circumference C, a width W and a spin plane; two flattened sides on opposite sides of the sphere segment portion separated by width W, and a covering configured to cover the sphere segment portion and flattened sides; grasping the sphere segment portion of the training ball like a traditional ball; and pitching and releasing the training ball so it rotates in the spin plane.
 18. The training ball of claim 17, wherein the covering includes a color to increase visualization of the training ball.
 19. The training ball of claim 17, wherein the covering includes one or more markings to increase visualization of the training ball.
 20. The training ball of claim 19, wherein the markings are aligned with the spin plane. 